We chose to eat at Maya for second dinner. Our later arrival at 9:30 allowed us to be seated inside immediately. We shared a bowl of the beef-based soup of the day, which was fantastic. It was surprisingly good.

My favorite entree and one of the nightly specials was a lamb dish with a red wine reduction. Like the lamb Ginny has cooked all day in the crock pot, the meat was fall off the bone tender and excellently seasoned to complement the lamb flavor.

All of the entrees came with two sides. We tried the broccolini, corn bread, mac and cheese, sweet potato fries, brussel sprouts with bacon and onions, and stone ground grits with white cheddar. The sides were really good, although the sweet potato fries seemed a little soggy, not crispy.

The second special of the night was pork chops with apple butter. The mix of savory and sweet worked nicely together - very tasty.

The third dish was Rock Barn Pork NY Strip with Carolina bbq slaw. Initially I did not see the "Pork" in the title, and the server explained that this was the same cut, but pork instead of beef. After a quick period to reconsider, I stayed with the dish. The slaw was delicious, reminding us of Thai sweet chili sauce. Unfortunately, the pork seemed a tad dry. In retrospect, the dish of course tasted like pork, and I am not sure I see a meaningful comparison to NY strip. When I think of NY strip, I think of a softer meat cooked medium rare. Of course pork must be fully cooked and ends up well done and firm - which could not be farther from my mental picture of NY strip.

Of note was the service. When I asked for honey mustard to dip the sweet potato fries (like at Willies in Manhattan, Kansas), the owner (I think) came out and sincerely went through alternative options, which was much appreciated. On the other hand, the server seemed too focused on having us consider drinks, appetizers, deserts, and coffee. There is a fine line between being informed and prodded, and I perceived the latter. Other than the push to order more, the service was quite good.

In summary, some of the dishes were excellent while others were generally very good. To be fair Maddy had a superb experience here during her last visit, and during this visit I don't think I chose exactly what I was in the mood for. My impression is that Maya seeks to consistently produce excellent food and improve the customers' experience, and we will definitely consider returning to Maya during my next visit.